Phillies Reportedly Show Interest in Delmon Young

The Phillies outfield has been a point of emphasis this offseason, but little has been done to address it. Ruben Amaro stayed away from the expensive names and instead added Ben Revere through a trade. That leaves younger, unproven players at the corner spots. Amaro has publicly stated he may have to live with some sort of outfield platoon.

Young, still just 27 (seems older), has had some off-the-field issues in the past, including a 50-game suspension in the minor leagues for throwing a bat at an umpire. Young was also arrested in 2012 for shouting anti-Semitic slurs while intoxicated outside a New York City hotel. He was banned seven games for the incident.

As former Phillies Nation colleague Michael Baumann stated on twitter today, “there are a lot of Jewish people in Philadelphia…wouldn’t dropping Delmon Young in the middle constitute a danger to public safety?”

On the field, it’s been up and down, as well. Young knocked in 112 runs in 2010 with the Twins, yet has never posted better than the 1.5 WAR he put up that year. He has the ability to drive in runs, and is a career .284 hitter, but would provide a marginal upgrade over guys like Ruf or Brown, at best. Young certainly provides no upgrade with his glove over any outfielder on the roster.

While it’s an interesting thought because of the talent he has shown at times, it doesn’t seem like a strong fit.